I am having some concerns about how my dog and two year old grandson are interacting, I had a wonderful trainer who is also a mom with two very young daughters, she was supposed to help me with this but her life and business are keeping her too busy and she never ends up coming over. I need someone who is great with dogs and kids and does not have any predudice about 'pit bulls' Rocky doesn't live with the baby , but we do live next door and Brandon has taken to pinching and hitting every so often, We supervise, supervise, supervise, but yesterday I thought he was patting him but he was pinching him. Rocky is six, so he does not have any experience dealing with this. My trainer has seen him with young children and feels he is fine but shes never seen him trying to deal with the Terrible Twos! Ive read more than enough about this kind of stuff to be horrified, I have gotten lots of info from reading but in practice its still tricky and Im not alwayssure what Rockys actions mean, tipps are always welcome too!

Lucky Rescue

April 4th, 2005, 12:06 PM

What kind of advice are you looking for from a trainer? He or she is going to tell you to stop letting this child pinch and hit your dog.....if you are unable to do that, then you should keep your dog away from the child, maybe behind a baby gate.
Not many dogs would tolerate this kind of treatment and you are lucky Rocky has so far.

BMDLuver

April 4th, 2005, 12:17 PM

:sorry: I have to agree with LR. The dog is not the one who needs the training but the child. I have two daughters, 2 & 3. They fully understand appropriate behaviour when around a dog. They also understand that not all dogs wish to be fussed over. It takes time and patience and diligence to teach a two year old but that's what needs to be done. It doesn't matter whether the dog is a specific breed or not, any dog when provoked can do serious damage. I have seen bichons and shihtzus do more harm than a bully breed.

babyrocky1

April 4th, 2005, 12:59 PM

Believe me I know its not the breed, I wouldn't be fighting this bill with every thing In me if I believed that. I most definately didn't LET the baby do this, but he did. Im actually relieved to here you guys say that because that is what I am feeling too. that we may be expecting too much from the dog. Obviously there is a process hear. The two year old shows no signs of slowing down! I dont think he hurt Rocky, but he startled him. We are certainly are trying to teach the child and the dog. Things have been going well for a long time but the babys energy and capacity for mischief have increased ten fold in the past few weeks! We went through a potential problem when the baby went from infant to crawling baby. Rocky did not understand what the baby was. We limited the time they spent with each other and were hyper vigilant and always made sure to have short and positive visits. I think that we have to go back to that now! I still would like some trainer that I trust to interput certain behaviours for me. Even if its just to build confidence and help us develop a plan and realistic goals for the child and dog. I have heard so many times from others that there dog is just great with kids instinctively and then I feel like I did something wrong with Rocky! I constantly hear people say that there kids, climb on the dog pull its tail blahblahblah. Nobody on this post ofcourse! Lucky Rescue, thanks for the advice. I actually purchased a pen for Rocky with this in mind but my trainer thought that was a bad idea. I used it a few times but the dog hated it and the baby kept tryinig to rattle it. A baby gate might help though because they are plastic and not so noisy! And BMD lover Id be happy to take tips on teaching the two year old as well !

BMDLuver

April 4th, 2005, 01:40 PM

I'm trying to remember what we did with the kids. Both have been around dogs since they were born. Our old dog, who passed away, was there for both births and crawling stages. She was extremely tolerant. One thing I know, we never allow, Gwyn, our youngest, to approach a dog without us being right beside her. She's the toughest little monkey I've every met. She would grab hold of the dog to steady herself and our hand would be on hers at the same time. If we felt her clinching, then we would relax the hand and glide it over the dogs body saying gentle, nice pats. If Gwyn was in a particuliarly "evil" moment, we would remove her from the dog's path and redirect her attention to something else. When she approached the dog calmly and carefully, we would go over with her and show her how we give the dog a pat and gentleness. We are very careful to not roughhouse with the dogs around the kids. We always move quietly and gently when handling them so that the kids see that is the only way to treat an animal. We just keep repeating this with Gwyn over and over. Now she is at the point that as she approaches the dog, we say be gentle Gwyn and she will lightly pat them and tell them "good oggy". It took some time to get to this point but we just kept at it and at it. It also helps them to be gentler with other children too. Gwyn meets a baby and softly strokes the arm or gives a gentle hug instead of the bone crushing one's she used to give. I don't know if this helps or not. If there's something specific I can answer, then feel free to ask away. :)

babyrocky1

April 4th, 2005, 02:14 PM

Thanks or your quick reply BMDluver. It sounds to me like your proximity with the kids is key. We are doing this kind of thing with Brandon but were not nearly there yet! What about kids running around the dogs? do you allow that? I have been allowing that because I thought that Rocky should learn to tolerate it as theres not much chance that a two year old wont be running. When he is though, I sit on the floor with Rocky and praise him for not reacting. Thanks again for the advice its good to chat with someone whoes been through this!

babyrocky1

April 4th, 2005, 03:16 PM

I just re-read all of this thread and felt I should clarify something, yes Brandon does TRY to hit and pinch at times but he has very rarely been successful-Im not ALLOWING this behaviour but on rare occasions it has happened. I am seaking advice because as with anything there is a learning process, yet with this situation there is NO room for error! The child and the dog cannot be socialised unless they spend time together and its all a matteer of degree. As I have said, Im going to cut back on the time they spend together and be even more vigilant when they are but I would really like to have a pro see there interaction and give me some advice. I do really appreciate the advice I get on the posts as well, but please don't misunderstand-I most ceretainly do not expect my dog to be tolerant of abuse!
This situation is new for all of us myself, my daughter, the baby and the dog! Just when we think we have it figured out it changes again! Thanks again for the advice
and love to hear more! Its all good!

Lucky Rescue

April 4th, 2005, 03:39 PM

Im not ALLOWING this behaviour but on rare occasions it has happened.

Yes, I understand that and know toddlers can get into all kinds of things in the blink of an eye.

Putting your dog in a cage will not endear the child to him, in fact it will make him resent the child since he is being punished (in his mind) when the child is around.

I know it's accidental, but you cannot expect any dog to tolerate pain inflicted on him. My own last dog (not a pit bull) would have reacted very unpleasantly and aggressively to this! My solution was to keep him away from little kids.

I constantly hear people say that there kids, climb on the dog pull its tail blahblahblah
This is not smart and no one should allow it and I"m sure this accounts for many children being bitten.

Give Rocky a nice juicy bone and put him behind a gate when the baby is there, until she is old enough to understand how to treat an animal.

BMDLuver

April 4th, 2005, 04:58 PM

What about kids running around the dogs? do you allow that? I have been allowing that because I thought that Rocky should learn to tolerate it as theres not much chance that a two year old wont be running.
My girls can get very rambunctious at times and run around like crazy kids. If I see that any of the dogs here are getting agitated by the running and flailing arms, I will send the dogs out for a break in our yard. I let the girls run off some steam then I explain that "so n so" is coming back in now and that they need some quiet time. I will also talk to the dog and soothe it if it appears that the nerves are becoming a bit jangled just as you are doing. I make sure that the kids also understand if they are getting into the dog's "space" that they must move away and pick another spot to goof around. I am constantly reminding them to be careful of "so n so". I find it's a give and take for both the dog and the kids. Equal quiet time and to never expect too much from the dog particuliarly when it is older. LR's suggestion of babygating the dog in while the toddler is having a moment is also a good one as the dog is protected from the chaos. :)

babyrocky1

April 5th, 2005, 12:27 PM

Lately Brandon has only Moments. It seems like no down time! I dont know if you noticed, but we dont live together, we do live next door to one another, so I can always take Rocky home when I need to. My reason for posting this is that I feel that the two of them need to be socialised and comfortable with each other. Not necessarilly today but thats what the goal is. I realise that this can take time, but I obviosly need to do this properly and I do appreciate your and Lucky Rescues advice. I have also had advice and offers of help from private messages. Thanks everyone! There are some things that I do feel comfortable to do with the two of them together. Brandon is good at giving Rocky treats. He sits and takes them gently. Also in our apartment building we have a very long hall. Brandon loves to run down the hall, so I walk Rocky on a leash behind Brandon, never allowing him to get to close or to run himself. My thinking is that this shows Rocky that Brandon is Alpha cause he goes first, and also that Rocky is never allowed to chase Brandon. I also sit right beside the two of them on the floor and supervise Brandons ineraction with the dog, showing him gentle etc. but Brandons not getting it yet! He still hits, and pinches me. I have now started to teach him to stroke my arm as if he were patting the dog and saying good gentle! Better me than the dog! I am concerned abut Rockys age, will this be difficult for him because he is almost six?